In this article, we examine how consumers assess product quality when confronted with multiple cues. Based on cue diagnosticity, a conceptual framework is developed that differentiates between cue types and suggests that the diagnosticity of some cue types depends on the valence of other cue types in the environment. The cue diagnosticity framework is then used to assess the effects of manufacturer reputation, retailer reputation, and product warranty on consumer perceptions of product quality. Consistent with the conceptual framework, we find in 2 studies that warranty is not used in judgments of product quality when a manufacturer with a poor reputation sells directly to consumers or sells through a retailer with a poor reputation. However, when the same manufacturer sells through a reputed retailer, then the warranty is used in making quality evaluations. The results not only support the conceptual framework, but also highlight the important role that the retailer plays in assessments of product quality. The implications ofthe fmdings are discussed along with directions for future research.

This article examines consumer spending as a function of payment mode both when the modes differ in terms of payment coupling (association between purchase decision and actual parting of money) and physical form as well as when the modes differ only in terms of form. Study 1 demonstrates that consumers are willing to spend more when a credit card logo is present versus absent. Study 2 shows that the credit card effect can be attenuated when people estimate their expenses using a decomposition strategy (vs. a holistic one). Noting that credit card and cash payments differ in terms of payment coupling and form, Studies 3 and 4 examine consumer spending when the payment mode differs only in physical form. Study 3 demonstrates that consumers spend more when they are spending scrip (a form of stored value certificate) versus cash of the same face value. Study 4 shows that the difference in spending across payment modes (cash and gift certificates) is attenuated by altering the salience of parting with money through contextual manipulations of the differences between cash and gift certificates.

No abstract

Although price-matching refund policies are common in many retail environments, the impact of such policies on consumers has largely been ignored. This article reports the results of three studies that examine price-matching policies from a consumer perspective. Study 1 shows that consumers perceive price-matching policies as signals of low store prices and that the presence of a refund increases the likelihood of discontinuing price search. Contrary to the predictions based on signaling theory in information economics, studies 2 and 3 show that when search costs are low, the number of stores searched increases in the presence versus absence of a price-matching policy. When search costs are high, consumers appear to accept the price-matching signal at face value and search less in the presence of a refund. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical implications of the findings and suggesting directions for future research. C onsiderable research effort has been expended to study the behavioral and psychological aspects of price (e.g., Monroe 1990; Winer 1988). This research has led to the awareness of the complex role of price and price-related strategies in influencing consumer price perceptions (Monroe 1990). In particular, this research suggests that although prices are concrete relative to other product attributes, price perceptions are malleable (Alba et al. 1994). However, much of this research focuses on consumer price perceptions of individual products or brands (Arnold, Oum, and Tigert 1983). Relatively few researchers have examined the effect of general pricing strategies on consumer perceptions of store prices (cf. Alba et al. 1994; Buyukkurt 1986). Perceptions of store prices are an important aspect of a store's overall image and are critical determinants of consumer shopping decisions such as search behavior and store choice (Urbany, Dickson, and Wilkie 1989). As consumers become more value conscious, particularly in relatively undifferentiated retail environments where price is the primary

Firms may choose to present the price of a multicomponent product bundle in partitioned (separate price for each mandatory component) or consolidated (single, equivalent price) fashion. In this article, we report on 2 experiments that examined the effects of such presentations on evaluations and choices as well as the underlying processing effects. In Experiment 1, consistent with a mental accounting analysis, a multicomponent product bundle was evaluated more favorably and chosen more often when its components were presented with partitioned (vs. consolidated) prices. The effects were, however, moderated by the component partitioned. In particular, it appeared that partitioning prices altered attention paid to the components partitioned and related product features. In Experiment 2, we found that different splits of the bundle price influenced evaluations and choices depending on how the focal product price related to that of a comparison option. These price‐split effects were also moderated by the component partitioned, suggesting attention effects similar to Experiment 1. The findings show that although the effects of price partitioning were consistent with mental accounting principles, they were moderated by information processing effects related to the partitioned component.